The Film Stage's Scores

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For 3,438 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 55% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 41% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.6 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 70
Highest review score: 100 Amazing Grace
Lowest review score: 0 The Hustle
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,433 out of 3438
  2. Mixed: 888 out of 3438
  3. Negative: 117 out of 3438
3438 movie reviews
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  1. Medusa
    There’s plenty to like here: gorgeous cinematography—there’s an unforgettable shot during a power outage at the coma facility, where the generator attempts to flicker the small, rectangular lights along the walls of the main, symmetrical room—propulsive synth beats to go with the choir, and stellar performances that at some point all skew towards parody to really drive home the indoctrination angle before each awakening opens eyes to the truth.
  2. The Wheel
    It’s messy and overly convoluted, but the ends do mostly justify the means.
  3. True Things
    Adapting a book by Deborah Kay Davies, director Harry Wootliff and her co-writer Molly Davies bring True Things to life as a quasi-reaction to Instagram captions generally painting a much sunnier picture than reality could ever prove.
  4. Huda's Salon
    Huda’s Salon recalls Hollywood mysteries from the 1940s in both its brisk pace and disarmingly simple style, resulting in a sparse, intelligent thriller.
  5. Saloum
    One mystery is solved so another can begin without missing a beat as revenge takes on new meaning in the aftermath of its completion.
  6. The Girl and the Spider
    The Girl and the Spider’s lovely concluding shot visualizes this fading relationship, and stands as the filmmakers’ final statement on the fleeting nature of love in all its forms. It is both bitter and sweet. So is this beautiful film.
  7. Costa Brava, Lebanon
    Akl provides the scenario a keen insight that only someone going through the same push and pull as the characters could.
  8. Charlotte
    It’s a compelling journey often rendered inert by quick transitions from one tragedy to another.
  9. All My Puny Sorrows
    It is by no means a misfire and features a trio of tremendous performances from Pill, Gadon, and Mare Winningham. But given the source material and the ingredients, Sorrows certainly qualifies as a disappointment.
  10. Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon
    This is a midnight movie/B-movie-type work that knows exactly what it is––there’s no pretensions of “elevated horror” here. Mona Lisa is smart, politically aware, and reaffirms a bit of faith in Amirpour’s talent.
  11. Earwig
    When it’s not falling into the traps of prestige horror with arbitrary vagueness, Earwig has power to pull viewers into its strange, menacing universe—enough to make this experience worthwhile.
  12. The Humans
    The Humans spends its time inside its own head when it should have been putting more effort getting into ours.
  13. Listening to Kenny G
    [Lane] proves yet again that nobody can tonally marry edification and entertainment onscreen so effortlessly. It’s masterful.
  14. A Banquet
    All four main actors deliver great performances.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    My Name Is Pauli Murray
    My Name is Pauli Murray most effectively serves as a springboard introduction to Murray’s voice. There is clearly so much more to Murray’s story, and the film is smart in featuring the names of Murray’s own works, as well as talking heads who have spent their lives promoting Murray’s importance.
  16. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
    At a minimum, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain stirs up appreciation for these tiny feline creatures that have gone from the streets to staining the carpets. Out of unusual direction and honest portrayals emerges something much greater.
  17. The Starling
    It will provide a fun discussion on what went wrong, rather than what went right, and that conversation will give more joy, story, and clarity than the film itself.
  18. The Eyes of Tammy Faye
    Showalter made a bright, fun, pleasing film, colorful in both character, tone, and picture. I just wish it had a bit more criticism, a little more outrage, in its bones.
  19. Saint-Narcisse
    Some might balk at the film’s light, non-judgmental tone towards incest, abuse, sexuality, and religion, but LaBruce is smart in how he lets that tension rest on the audience and whatever baggage they may bring to the film instead of trying to acknowledge or appease to it. If anything, Saint-Narcisse is a welcome piece of provocative entertainment, existing as its own weird and sincere comedy for those willing to take the ride.
  20. Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
    Though the overall quality of the picture may leave a bit to be desired, this documentary serves as a necessary monument to a legend who never got enough credit.
  21. Blue Bayou
    Chon is a magnetic and sympathetic performer, and Vikander lends warmth and vulnerability to an undercooked role. But there are many false notes.
  22. The Nowhere Inn
    Director Bill Benz (best known for episodes of Portlandia), Clark, and Brownstein have a good deal of fun playing the business side of show business—the documentary filmmaker trying to find a unique angle between concert footage, or the star having to take mundane questions from the press in each city she visits on tour. It both documents an identify crisis and doesn’t.
  23. Cry Macho
    Clunky and cranky in the most charming of ways, the film always moves in sync with its 91-year-old star, lingering on moments of solitude for long periods while brushing past more traditional plot points with ease.
  24. Dashcam
    A mixed bag, part entertaining and part annoying with a whole lot of gusto behind it.
  25. Copshop
    While a few too many digital squibs also tamper the movie’s initial analogue charm, Carnahan manages to stick the landing of his admittedly modest goals, orchestrating a satisfying, bloody conclusion involving all three leads.
  26. Lady of the Manor
    It’s light, absurd, and very low-stakes.
  27. I Am Not Alone
    This starts and finishes with Pashinyan’s faith in Armenians and they do not let him down.
  28. Encounter
    Pearce and Barton set up this heavy emotional narrative dealing with mental illness, PTSD, and familial love only to undercut it with loud overtures of systemic violence devoid of textual basis.
  29. Benediction
    The comedy in Benediction is like a spoonful of sugar before Davies brings in the medicine.
  30. Sundown
    The result is an introspective character study caught against a gorgeous yet volatile backdrop. While I personally believe the payoff is worth the journey, however, I wouldn’t begrudge others for feeling as though they’ve been jerked around.
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